Chapter Twenty-Two: The Final Agent
In the Sanctuary Logan approaches the map table with the others all turning to Gabriel who smiled.
"Congratulations everyone, I can honestly say I did not expect another agent to attack so suddenly after your battle at sea but the results have proven beneficial in our favor, now there only remains one agent," Gabriel spoke looking at the growing lights across the enchanted map.
"Where is that bloody thing anywhere?" Saker spoke looking around the map then spotted it, "Ah there you are! Clockwork Island."
Letting out a sigh Logan nodded, "Well better to get this over with, Professor Faraday probably has a lot of things he rightly wants to say to my face."
"How has the Professor been since Adam freed him?" Tali asked turning to Gabriel.
"Productive, the island has been restored to the glory it was before Faraday's imprisonment, and from what I have seen looks like Faraday's new defenses are giving that agent a run for its money," Gabriel explained.
"New defenses?" Logan asked in confusion.
"Yes, thanks to your past with him and his encounter with your brother the doctor decided he would not allow any to try and weaponize his inventions ever again, seems he invented a new shield system the technology is astonishing, you'll see it soon," Gabriel spoke.
"Let's get going then," Tali spoke touching the map vanishing with the others.
Arriving at the docks the heroes walked up the steps to the main ticket area where Huxley and another robot Collin the robot stood, both appearing to have new parts and upgrades, "welcome guest! Due to unfortunate attacks, Clockwork Island is closed to all guests! We do apologize, but for your safety return to your ship."
"All questions and complaints are to be taken to our service desk to your right with our lovely Decka," Collin spoke.
"Amazing! So, these are the famous Faraday Robots I heard so much about! What amazing technology!" Tali spoke approaching as both the eyes of the robot went red on scanning Logan's face.
"Warning! Warning! Intruder alert! Active the Faraday Defense Protocol!" Collin and Huxley both screamed with a red siren light appearing on the gate behind them that closed shut.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Logan spoke holding out his hand and looking at the newly put-in video cameras that all looked to Logan.
"Look who decided to show their face here," Faraday spoke on the speaker system, "tyrant King Logan, whoops, I mean former king, come to try and weaponize my beloved inventions again?"
"No Faraday I haven't, I know saying this will mean nothing to you, I know I can't give back the time I stole from you, all I can say is, I am sorry," Logan spoke getting on his hands and knees and bowed his head to the camera, "please Faraday, I promise I'll leave as soon as I can but my companions and I must locate and eliminate the threat that trying to take over the island."
"Scanning," Huxley spoke before his and Collin's eyes returned to their normal colors, "vocal pattern scan indicates, truth."
"Interesting," Faraday spoke, the alarms turned off and the red light returned to where they were hidden, "proceed, and welcome to Farady Industries, where far away dreams become reality."
Opening the gates Huxley and Collin allowed Logan and the others to pass, "Hello guests, I am Huxley and I will be your guide, please refrain from using obscure language in front of the children."
"Children?" Saker spoke looking down at his companions.
"Now if you will follow me, will begin the tour, keep your belonging with you at all times, and try not to stray from the group," Huxley spoke leading them into the beautiful-looking town.
"My goodness," Tali gasped in awe at the beautiful town that had been built.
"We begin with what is yet to come, astonish your senses, and give flight to your fancy, by stepping into the streets of the future!" Huxley spoke leading them down the road where robots exited the house all waving to their guest.
"Hey, Huxley what is all this?" Echo asked waving back to a robot.
"Before you is an everyday Bowerstoen suburb, as it will be fifteen years from now, yes, the future is in our grasp, please walk among the citizens of tomorrow, share their joy. Marvel at their superior wellbeing," Huxley spoke.
"Superior well-being?" Saker spoke turning his head when they heard the intercoms come on.
"Huxely just giving a prerecorded tour, it's in his coding, but he is not wrong, your kind brother Logan has made many contributions to Farady Industries, together we are working to better the lives of Albion's people, I am most excited to show him the Telephone we succeeded in creating," Faraday spoke.
Tali then peeked through the window of one of the houses looking at all the stylish and futuristic furniture.
"What are those things?" Echo asked pointing to an electric generator powering the houses.
"Generator, well the old models anyway, those would have been what powered our home," Logan spoke.
"Seems dangerous looking," Tali spoke watching electric sparks around it.
"I do admit, we kept the old model mostly for nostalgic reasons, the newer smaller electrical boxes were more practical and safer for the family dogs," Faraday spoke as they approached the front gates to the bridge for the main factory.
Gates then opened allowing the group through while Huxley returned to his post, walking across the bridge the group noticed the massive electric towers now more of them that seemed to cover the island.
"That one seems different from those smaller ones," Tali spoke watching electricity surged up the tower and shoot into the sky creating an almost invisible shield high above the island.
"That is what keeping my island safe," Faraday spoke from the courtyard of the factory they approached, "they're creating shields above the island preventing that beast from getting in."
"This is amazing Professor! This technology is astounding!" Tali smiled.
Glaring at Logan for a moment Faraday turned and headed towards the factory, "this way, keep up."
Leading the group Faraday lead them to a workshop where all around were blueprints for a new invention and on workstations were many prototypes, leading them to his office the others looked up in shock to see many black boxes that all turned on and showed moving images.
"These are what I call 'Computer screens,' along with the amazing 'video cameras,' allow me to monitor my island and more importantly the threats," Faraday spoke pointing to a shore on the other side of the island where a massive crocodile-like monster was trying to break past an electrical field.
"Amazing! This technology could be used to prevent burglars from entering homes," Echo spoke are Faraday smiled.
"That's what the King said too when I showed him, he wants store owners and homeowners to have security in their homes," Faraday smiled noticing Saker studying blueprints of what looked like a brain and transferring it into the computer system.
"What this rubbish?" Saker asked as Faraday approached and covered up the blueprints with a sheet.
"Oh nothing, let's just call that my legacy for the future," Faraday spoke approaching Logan, "now then, you came to slay that beast?"
"Yes, they're invaders from Samarkand, once we destroy it we plan to march to Samarkand to free King Adam from his imprisonment and free the country from the tyrant Empress," Logan explained.
"Another tyrant? That makes two in my lifetime, I've been keeping up with the latest gossip in Albion, your journey of redemption, these monsters, and the upcoming war, I still stand by my word, I will never betray my creations and allow them to be used as weapons of war, however, I must take back what I once thought," Faraday spoke approaching a table and picking up a fly robot.
"What would that be Professor Faraday?" Tali asked seeing the man turn to them.
"There is no world of tomorrow free of conflict, jealousy, selfishness, or greed because of science, these are things I learned the hard way, however, I can better the lives of the people who aren't these things," Faraday spoke tossing the fly to Logan who quickly caught it.
"Ok, old man why are we even here?" Saker asked looking at the monitors.
"I can't allow that thing to go unchecked on my home and threaten my creations, you can cut through the workshop to the warehouse, I will shut off the shields when you approach so you do not get harmed then it will be up to you to destroy it," Faraday spoke hitting a button on a remote opening a doorway for them.
"Professor Faraday, I am sorry, truly, I hope that maybe someday that dream of a perfect world of tomorrow can come true," Logan spoke before leaving out the door with the others.
"That was a little awkward," Echo spoke following Logan through the warehouse where robots were packing up cameras and monitors into creates labeled 'to Bowerstone,' "Let kick that monster's arse."
"Some damage can't be done, Logan may not be able to get Faraday's forgiveness but we can ensure that the Professor's work can continue in peace," Tali spoke as Logan nodded and drew his sword.
"Come on," Logan spoke pushing open the doors out of the warehouse where they could see the docks below and the agent in the distance.
"It's taken on the form of a Crocodile, we have many of those in the South Island, if it locks its jaw around you, it will spin and tear your arm from your body," Echo warned.
"That a brutal thought," Tali spoke narrowing her eyes, "that armor on its head and back looks tough, could we try to get it on its back?"
"That skin on its belly is the softest," Echo advised studying their target, "too bad we don't have eels."
"Eels?" Saker spoke in confusion looking to Echo.
"Oh, never mind, just a random memory I had as a child, let's get the target!" Echo spoke as they rushed down the path towards the beach where the Corruption was trying to slip in.
Racing towards the Chomper Faraday's shield shut off allowing Saker to rush in and punch the massive croc across the jaws allowing them through the gate just as it turned back on.
Hissing the Chomper launched snapping its jaws toward Logan who dodged and threw an Inferno spell into the side of the agent's head.
"Tch! Gonna need stronger spell!" Logan growled charging his spell and looked to Saker who ran around and grabbed the large beast's tail and yanked it backward.
"Let's go, Logan!" Tali yelled charging her spell.
"Right!" Logan nodded both forming their spells in their hands.
"Watch the jaws!" Echo warned avoiding a snap of its jaws.
"We are ready! Light Blades Maxima!" Logan yelled launching his spell followed by Tali casting her fireworks both the spells hitting and exploding on the Croc's head.
Waiting for the smoke to clear Logan barely dodged as the Chomper emerged from the smoke almost getting its jaws around his body he dodged rolled and drew his sword seeing the agent growl and was unphased by their spell and the Corruption still intact.
"Damn! Maybe another three-way combination way?" Logan growled looking to Tali who nodded.
Studying the fight Echo narrowed her eyes and went into thought, 'How are we to destroy this thing if we can't even burn away its corruption?! There must be a way!'
Recalling her memory as a kid Echo looked to the electrical shield and then her staff, 'It could work, I just need a conductor!'
Looking around quickly she looked at the wires on the fence then rushed over to a camera watching the fight, "Faraday! Turn off the power to this fence, please! I have an idea!"
Waiting for a reply she heard the power shut off and quickly grabbed a metal wire off the fence and yanked grunting and pulling with all her strength before ripping it out of the fence and quickly wrapping it around her pole.
"Take this!" Saker yelled punching the Chomper again and quickly dodged its jaws.
A bomb then exploded against the agent's head making it turn to Echo whose arms were behind her back, "Yeah over here you bastard!"
"Echo what are you doing? Get away from there!" Logan yelled about to rush over only to be smacked away by the croc's tail and crashing into Saker.
"That right come get me!" Echo yelled watching the agent rush towards her, 'That's it, just a little closer and...'
Seeing an opening when the croc opened its jaws Echo pulled her staff out and threw it into the agent's mouth, "FARADAY NOW!"
With her signal the power came back as the monstrous croc began to twitch and shake being electrocuted, its Corruption burning away, smoke began to come out of the agent's nose and its body began to burn.
Watching Logan and the others shielded their eyes when the agent exploded and the chunks of its body began to burn away in the sunlight that began to shine down, "god damn!" Saker spoke.
"Oh, Echo your staff!" Tali spoke seeing Echo's weapon had gotten slightly damaged.
"It's okay, it can be repaired, I am just happy that idea worked," Echo spoke picking up her staff.
"How did you know that would work?" Logan asked approaching the others.
"Well as a child I remember fishing with my father, we had caught an eel and it was wiggling in the mud, we then noticed as a croc began to approach from the water, and my father told me to stand back and watch, then the hungry croc bit down on the eel and before our eyes it began to get electrocuted!" Echo spoke recalling her story.
"Goodness! What did you do after?" Tali asked seeing Echo smile at her.
"Well, we waited and took home Croc for breakfast lunch, and dinner!" Echo chuckled.
"That was a brilliant idea Echo, good job!" Saker smiled patting her on the back.
"Well done you four, come back inside, I give you something," Faraday spoke over the intercom shutting off the shields to let them back inside.
Once they had returned to the workshop the heroes approached seeing Faraday repairing a Colin model, "I wanna thank you for destroying that brute, and Ms. Echo was it? Brilliant quick thinking!"
"I am sorry about your fence!" Echo apologized as Faraday shook a hand.
"No need to fret, that can easily be repaired, I do feel sorry about your weapon, may I?" Faraday spoke as Echo handed over her staff and Farady examined it.
"Think you can repair it?" Logan asked seeing the doctor set the staff on his workbench.
"I have an idea if you don't mind me doing a few modifications my dear lady?" Faraday spoke as Echo nodded her approval, "Feel free to tour the workshop, I shall have this done in no time."
After waiting a few hours the group relocated to the town of tomorrow where they turned to the gates when Faraday returned with Echo staff in hand, Echo rushed over excitedly, "You managed to repair it?"
"It was heavily damaged and not everything could be fixed but I did keep some of its original components for this new staff," Faraday spoke thrusting the staff forward and stabbing it into a wall where they watched electrical sparks come from the tip, "both ends of your staff now have built-in tasers, I also noticed it had a light base power so if you hit this small button you can switch from electricity to light-based attacks."
"Incredible!" Echo smiled taking the staff and giving it a spin.
"How powerful is the taser?" Saker asked.
"Let's find out," Echo spoke pointing her staff and poking it into Saker's neck electrocuting the man who grunted and then fell over with a hard thud.
"GAH! What the bloody hell Echo?! That fucking hurt ya know!" Saker yelled with his hair slightly sticking up.
"Packs enough power to stun a fully grown Balverine, someone of your skills should be able to put that weapon to good use," Faraday explained noting Logan and Tali both trying to conceal their laughter but noticing how much Logan changed.
"You okay mate?" Logan spoke letting a small chuckle slip.
"Yeah, just peachy!" Saker growled getting off the ground.
"Hey Logan," Faraday spoke as he approached and held out his hand to Logan, "Good luck, I hope you can save our king."
"Thank you, Professor Faraday, keep up the amazing work," Logan smiled shaking hands with the Professor.